Post navigation

A10 Community cohesion / Big Society

RE for REal: “The religious landscape now includes religious traditions, informal religion and beliefs as well as non-religious world views “

Professor Adam Dinham

Modern Britain is diverse and shares a common vision and sense of belonging for all communities. RE has a central role in promoting respect, appreciation and understanding of people’s religions and beliefs, which is at the heart of our syllabus. Students are encouraged to understand themselves and others with different values, backgrounds and circumstances. The syllabus does not shy away from conflicts within and between religions; it enables pupils to look at and question various narratives and to explore collaboration and dialogue between people with contrasting views in faith and belief.

A vital part of RE is studying the damaging effects on human beings of racial stereotyping, xenophobia and the belittling of people’s beliefs and values. Some ideas are extremist and these can only be exposed and questioned when students are free to challenge them and develop the skills to do so. Any belief that incites hate, or breeds and justifies violence against a person or group, must be challenged. Extremists tend to ‘justify the use of force and violence over persuasion, prefer uniformity and dogma to diversity, stress collective goals over individual freedom, and give orders instead of using dialogue’.[1]

A key learning outcome of this syllabus is helping pupils develop their understanding of similarities and differences within and between religions and belief. Pupils are encouraged to see religions not as separate, historical entities but as living, changing faiths that have important and ongoing dialogue with one another, in modern Britain, local communities and the world. The aim is to enable students to understand the place of religion and beliefs in different kinds of communities (school, local, wider, UK and global) and how the media presents these.